After finalizing version 1.0 of Matter, the CSA (Connectivity Standards Alliance) decided to hold an event on Thursday (3). In it, several brands confirmed the first products that will make use of the standard. One of them was Nanoleaf, which announced lamps and LED tapes developed from scratch to be compatible with the protocol.
The company confirmed the arrival of four items for its line “Essentials smart lighting”. There are three smart bulbs of different sizes and an LED tape, all using Thread wireless connection technology.
In addition, the products will be able to deliver more than 16 million color options, with temperatures ranging from 2,700K to 6,500K. Everything will hit stores in the first half of 2023, prices range from $19.99 to $99.99.
Gimmy Chu, CEO of Nanoleaf, said in an interview with The Verge that he believes these items will be the first to support the Matter standard by thread connection:
There are lighting companies that allow the activation of lamps with this technology, but they are doing it across a bridge. We may be the ones doing this directly with our lamps.
However, other brands have already announced the release of products supported by Matter or have confirmed that they will upgrade their current devices to the protocol.
During the event, some companies confirmed support for the new protocol.
Amazon, for example, has announced that it will offer the technology over Wi-Fi to 17 Echo devices and bulbs later in 2022. For the following year, the company plans to bring Matter by Thread to more gadgets.
Philips has confirmed that its Hue Bridge is one of the first to be officially certified by csa standard. From a software update, all objects connected to the bridge and all smart home items in the brand will be compatible with the new standard. However, no date for the updates has been disclosed yet.
It is also worth pointing out that names like Tuya, Aqara and Brillant have announced that they will release the protocol for their gadgets and applications by the end of 2023. In this way, sockets and switches of these and other brands will be increasingly compatible with version 1.0 of Matter.
In other words, initially, only firmware updates will happen, but in the near future, we will have more tangible news.
CSA has announced that it will launch the Product Security Working Group for the protocol. The goal is to provide a high level of security for Matter. Therefore, the institution intends to bring more and more companies together around the standard.
Today, more than 100 brands have embraced the technology. Because of this, it is not absurd to think that in the near future, more different devices and sensors will make use of this type of connection.
On the other hand, a smart home is still too complicated for an ordinary user. It is up to the companies to convince us that this is a good time to venture into this world.
